Chapter Text
Tyler and Mark had been living together for a few months. Having been friends for several years, they knew each other fairly well in most instances. Tyler could always tell when Mark was frustrated or overtired- usually he was grumpy and would fidget a lot, or sometimes have trouble responding when Tyler was chatting with him whether he struggled to verbalize his thoughts or spaced out more. That’s usually when Tyler would ask Mark if he wanted to FaceTime Daddy or start speaking softly, sometimes with baby talk, until Mark admitted it was time he let go, even just for a little bit. As for Tyler’s tells, he was usually more active but tended to mess up simple things which would cause him to struggle with his relaxation breathing. Other times he was found just sitting in a remote area of the house, hands folded under his chin and elbows on his knees as he brooded over the latest seemingly unavoidable thoughts or issues. Mark’s go-to’s usually involved cuddling or playing games while they were both big. At times when Tyler seemed especially distant (and Mark may or may not have already been missing Daddy pretty bad as well), Mark would ask Tyler to take care of him in some way or another. It was rare for the shorter Youtuber to directly ask to be cared for, usually it was a snuggle that led to tears or a small murmur of ‘Papa Ty’ with hands fisted in the taller’s shirt.
Regressing was starting to sound nice since Mark had a rough week. He loved his fans so much and wanted them all to be happy, but a surprising number of them weren’t thrilled with his videos recently. The majority of his viewers were enjoying the series he started posting earlier in the week, Phobia. It didn’t have as many views as most of his other videos and there were a lot more dislikes than most of his other videos. To make up for the lack of enjoyment, Mark started back into some of his more popular series but it was exhausting and he was stressed about the move out to Los Angeles. He was honestly starting to worry that his fans wouldn’t be very happy since he might have to take a mini-hiatus to get all of his gear set up after getting everything to California. With all this on his plate, he was finding himself wanting to spend much more of his downtime in what Tyler liked to call his “Baby Space,” which referred to his headspace when he regressed since he was often a baby.
“What time is it?” Mark grumbled, rubbing his face and setting his headphones off to the side. “Jeez, how long have I been editing for…?”
Looking at the clock, it was already nearly seven in the evening. Editing always seemed to take the longest because there were so many ways to make the videos better and very tricky parts to time cut offs or speed up or montage… It was kind of frustrating to figure out what were the best parts sometimes. Mark sighed and stretched. Tyler should’ve been up his ass about dinner by now… That was worrying in and of itself. There was something wrong with Papa and Mark wasn’t sure babies were allowed to meddle- and yes, he knew he wasn’t always a baby but sometimes there was bleed through so they still thought of him as the baby and he wasn’t an expert in socializing so he didn’t wanna upset anyone…
Getting up from his chair, he left the mini studio in the spare bedroom and began the search for Papa. Mark decided to start in the kitchen and work his way through the house. As he came downstairs, Chica perked up from the couch and came to greet her favorite human. He took a moment to lavish her with pets and kisses before he went back to searching. The lights were off in the kitchen and no one was there. Mark double checked the living room and the backyard. He looked to Chica with worry as he started to wonder if he was all alone… Papa Ty didn’t normally leave without saying bye-bye… Uh oh- it wasn’t a good sign that he was starting to think in baby talk… It was getting more and more likely that he might regress before he even found Papa Ty.
“Chica, any ideas?” Mark questioned, petting her head and stroking her soft, floppy ears.
Chica barked playfully and led him to the playroom on the main floor. As he turned the light on, his heart sank. He really was starting to think Chica knew where Papa was, but instead she was sensing how little he was becoming. She was the one he chose for that very reason. She hadn’t been with him for very long, but she was already doing a great job at being a companion, protector, and helper. Sensing his upset, she brought his Septic Eye Sam plushy over, her tail wagging away.
“Thanks, Chica,” Mark murmured, offering her a sad smile as he accepted the stuffed friend. “You think Papa’s upstairs?”
Chica tilted her head as if to say ‘maybe but I don’t know’ and awaited his next move.
“Nursery, Puppers,” Mark decided, sounding a bit younger as he squished Sam to his chest.
The two walked their way upstairs and Mark felt for the hall light once more. His nursery door was cracked open and there was a lamp on so it was possible that maybe Papa had been doing clean up or something and forgot to get his Markimoo for dinner… Mark peered over to Chica, panting and still wagging her tail. He didn’t wanna disturb Papa- interrupting adults was a no-no if he was still Big enough to care for himself some. That was only ‘cause he usually tried to help with things he was too Little to help with and got hurt and dropped hard into Baby Space afterward. Before he could build up the nerve to enter, Chica nosed the door open and ran up to the rocking chair where Papa Ty was sitting and looking very sad and tired. She yipped at Mark and wagged her tail in anticipation.
“Hey, Chica. What’s up, Girly?” Tyler greeted, not aware of Mark standing in the doorway. He reached out to pet her and she pulled away, looking towards Mark. “What’s that fo-”
“What ya doin, Papa?” Mark asked, slipping a little further as he slowly approached as if the floor was made of glass and would break if he walked any faster.
“I was putting away your Baby Space clothes and just started thinkin’...” Tyler responded, opening his arms up as Mark got closer.
“What thinkin’?” Mark hesitantly pressed, standing between Papa’s knees as Chica laid down next to the rocking chair.
“Just about you and Little Sean,” Tyler answered.
“Why?” Mark prompted, letting Papa settle him on his lap as he pleased. The rocking chair was more like a rocking couch which Mark loved because he could stretch and really snuggle up to Daddy or Papa when they wanted to just hold him cradled in their arms like a tiny newborn.
“Just miss spending time with the Babies,” Tyler halfway admitted.
“But I here…” Mark puzzled, his eyebrows furrowing and lip pouting ever so slightly in confusion.
“You were a Big Boy earlier,” Papa teased, finally cracking a real smile.
“No.” Mark sassed.
“No, you weren’t?” Papa Ty clarified.
“Baby Marki,” Mark argued. “Papa not get his Markimoo for dinner…”
“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry, baby,” Tyler apologized, rocking them slowly. “What can I do to make it better?”
Mark’s face scrunched in concentration and uncertainty as he tried to think of the best things. It was getting kinda hard to make decisions and plans when he felt so hazy and fuzzy and, well, tiny. He finally responded, “Kissies an’... an’ changies… an’- an’... an’ Daddy talkie.”
“So my Markimoo wants Papa kissies, changies, and to skype Daddy?” Tyler confirmed with a soft, lopsided smile. “I think we can do that.”
Tyler shifted his hold on Mark and rose from the rocking chair. He watched his step to avoid hurting Chica as he made his way to the changing table. Once there, he stripped Mark down to nothing but his Sam plushy in his arms and strapped him in on the changing pad. The baby tried to stealthily slip a thumb in his mouth while his Papa was gathering the thick nighttime diaper and powder, only to be thwarted by his smirking Papa slipping one of his many pacis into his mouth. With that out of the way, Papa securely diapered him and watched with a fond yet sad smile as baby Mark happily squirmed on the changing table. It was always amusing to Tyler how Mark reacted to things the further he slipped. When the shorter began to slip, things were either too overwhelming and made him burst into tears or the little things like a kiss on the cheek or a fresh diaper were the highlight of his day and made him giggly as he grinned up a storm. This was certainly a giggly grin moment.
“Should Papa put you in a onesie or do we need a footie, Markimoo?” Tyler prompted as he rubbed the baby’s tummy and ran a hand through his floofy hair, figuring two options would be easier than the very big and vague question of what the Little wanted to wear.
“Footie, Papa,” Mark murmured around his paci and hugging Sam closer.
Being in just a diaper always made Mark slip even further. There was something about having to face the reality that he was so helpless that he needed a diaper and that someone else had to change him that made him feel so tiny… The further he slipped, the harder it was to concentrate on any one thing, unless the thing was rhythmically sucking on his binky, squishing Sam, or admiring his caregiver with wide eyes.
“I think you’re onto something, baby boy,” Tyler agreed, kissing the Little’s forehead and departing to the closet where Mark’s footed sleepers were tucked away.
Tyler quickly assessed the options and debated between a character one and his favorite space footie. He decided the space footie with the galaxy sprayed across it and all the childish drawings of planets strewn across it. The closet was aways away from the changing table and when he returned, it was to a tearful baby.
“Was that a bit scary, Marki-moo?” Tyler cooed as he slipped the sleeper on. “Does Papa need to just stick to you like glue whenever you’re not with Dada?”
Mark let himself whine and shed a few tears. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to be little and just how much he missed Dada who was spending the first few nights in town with his lady friend. She was some sort of model or something and Big Mark was super happy for Wade having found someone that could be his future wife, but Baby Mark was super scared and upset because she was a neutral and hadn’t even planned to have kids from what his Daddy had mentioned so Mark couldn’t imagine her being happy that her potential boyfriend had a little that was so young and needy. But Daddy was certain that she would come around to his Marki-moo and if not, Daddy would be able to say no thank you and try to find a nice lady to be Mark’s Mommy. Personally, Mark thought Papa Bob and Dada would make a nice and happy couple since they were the Little whisperers- especially for the toddlers and babies- and since they were already best friends and had even admitted to experimenting with each other back in the day. To Mark’s knowledge, most of his friends were bisexual which meant they could all be just a happy little unit big and little… If only Mark’s friends saw it that way…
“Oh, Bug, it’s alright, I promise,” Papa Ty reassured him as he lifted the baby off the changing table and headed for the nursery door. “Chica Pica, baby time!”
Chica perked up and darted after the duo as they walked down the hall to the stairs. She had recently been formally trained on how to be a little’s service dog. If she wasn’t already aware of Mark’s need for her comfort and attention, “baby time” was her cue to be glued to him until she was told “all done.” While that was her typical routine, she was very wise to Mark and when he wasn’t willing or sometimes wasn’t aware he was any sort of little. She was a blessing for sure. Tyler had made sure she had a service dog tag that had his and Wade’s numbers on it so that when Mark regressed suddenly she would find a way to get them.
There was a time they’d been at a dog park- just Mark who insisted he was big again and Chica- and Mark had been playing fetch with Chica. There were other pairs of owners and dogs of course but Mark hadn’t seen the german Shepherd that was bounding at him (the dog’s owner was on their phone on a bench somewhere, they later discovered). The shepherd had a tendency to join other pairs since his owner was a bit passive about playing at the park and had decided Mark and Chica were the perfect pair to join. Chica had dropped her ball and started whining when she first caught onto the shepherd racing towards her human and escalated to panicked barks before she tried to intercept the shepherd. Unfortunately, she had been much further from Mark than the shepherd was and didn’t make it in time to stop the shepherd from plowing her secretly little owner over. Thankfully the shepherd had quickly figured out that Chica was little’s dog and gotten off of Mark just in time. Chica scared the shepherd off with lots of warning barks- nothing vicious, but definitely not her usual friendliness- and nuzzled her human.
When Mark finally lifted his head, he was dazed at first and examined the scrapes on his hands from the fall. Looking between his hands his surroundings and Chica’s concerned nuzzling and sniffing, he slipped into his headspace and began wailing his woes to the park at large. Thankfully there was a very nice motherly officer on patrol that day with her canine companion and Chica had barked and done all sorts of tricks to get the lady’s attention. Finally, the officer got Papa Ty’s number from her tags and Mark was picked up from the park with Chica in tow. Later that night, Chica not only got her usual treats for being a good girl but baby Mark also fed her some of his ice cream after dinner.
It was times like that where Tyler was extra grateful for the canine and he always made sure to keep her involved in Mark’s little time. He knew of a lot of pets that were dismissed during a little’s headspace but even cats and birds and reptiles were fantastic helpers. If the bird could talk, the bird would often use baby terms to get a caregiver’s attention or cats would cry for attention and guide a caregiver to their little. As they made it down to the living room, Tyler made sure to grab the iPad from the tv stand and slowly got to a sitting position on the coffee table next to Mark’s bouncing swing- it was expensive to get the larger version of the infant soothing device, but it was absolutely worth it for how much it could smooth things over on a bad day for the baby.
“I know, Bug, I know,” Tyler soothed, showering the baby with kisses as he patted his padded tush. Mark has fessed up that it was a positive touch that reminded him he was a baby and that was okay and therefore was a very welcome touch, especially once Mark came around to liking his diapers, but that’s another story. “Should we call Dada and see what he and his nice friend Molly are up to?”
Mark fussed at hearing Molly’s name. He really wanted Dada to come over already, but tonight was Molly’s last night in town and they were supposed to come stay at the house in the guest room for her last night but they were headed to special dinner reservations from the hotel right now. Mark didn’t want to be a pest, but Dada was supposed to see his baby…
“I think we’ll get you all comfy in your seat,” Tyler narrated, punctuating his sentence every few words with kisses all over the baby’s face. “And we’ll mount the iPad on its holder on your swing and call Dada so Papa can make you a baba and some yummy food. Chica will keep baby company and if Dada goes bye bye before Papa is all done, then you’ll just have to come be my helper.”
With that, Papa Ty got Mark all buckled into his favorite little activity and secured the iPad to the mount on it. From there, he started the call to Wade and sat giving baby kisses while Chica laid her head in Mark’s lap. Upon seeing his Daddy’s face Mark started to genuinely cry. All this back and forth on being held and set down and being with Papa and no Daddy was overwhelming him when all he wanted was num nums, his bottle, and snuggles. Within a minute or two though, Daddy’s face was on the screen in a poorly lit car in a parking lot.
“Goodness sakes!” Daddy cooed through the video feed with the most sympathetic look of upset on his face. “What happened, my baby? Did you have a slip and slide after such a big day? Tell Daddy all about it.”
“Dada!!!” Mark wailed, packing all his woes into that one word as he gently scratched Chica’s head while Papa Ty ran his fingers through baby’s messy hair.
“Is he okay, Papa?” Wade worriedly directed to Tyler.
“He had a long long day and I kinda got wrapped up in chores so I didn’t realize we had missed our usual dinner time,” Tyler explained, pausing to press a few kisses to the baby’s temple, which helped a little. “That was definitely my bad, but I think he’s just a little sad that he’s known you’re already in town but not at the house yet. He’s been really excited for your visit.”
“I know, sweetheart, Daddy will be there after you wake up and be ready to take care of his baby,” Wade assured, directing his response to his baby. “Do we need our little song time so we can calm down and have a nice num num time before we go nigh night?”
“Can you nod and tell Dada yes or no?” Tyler murmured, peppering the baby’s temple with more kisses. “Go yes Dada or no Dada- I know you remember how.”
Mark hiccuped as he tried to process what he was supposed to do to get what he wanted. After a moment he took deep shuddering breaths matched with Papa Ty’s breathing and finally nodded.
“ I'm a wandering soul Lost in a city of homes. The earth is plenty, But the soil is thin. My shallow patience And my tender skin Could never free me Like you did. In a glorious moment, You show me beautiful lights And I want to know all the colors, Emotion in your eyes. In a night made of diamonds, I don't see anything else Cause I'm just learning to hold you Above a sleeping world ,” Wade sang Vancouver Sleep Clinic’s Sleeping World in a soft, gruff voice. “ So deep in the journey, I've been longing for you, But all my love could never be enough. Then my eyes were opened And I found everything I was looking for. In a glorious moment, You show me beautiful lights And I want to know all the colors, Emotion in your eyes. In a night made of diamonds, I don't see anything else Cause I'm just learning to hold you Above a sleeping world… ”
By the time Wade wrapped up the song, someone could be heard getting into the car and that’s when Mark saw what he hoped he wouldn’t- Daddy kissed the lady that joined him in the car… After finally calming down with Daddy’s singing, Mark was too tired to throw a fit about the kiss but he did accept his soother, which he hadn’t even realized fell out in all his crying, and watch Papa Ty smile and making soft cooing sounds at him as tears still streamed down his face.
“What a sweet boy!” Tyler quietly cooed, realizing Mark didn’t need to pay any mind to Molly and Wade being affectionate towards each other. “You’re such a good boy for us, aren’t you? Yes, you really are, love bug!”
“Marki-moo, you wanna say hi to Molly?” Daddy spoke up. In the background, Wade could see Tyler shaking his head with wide eyes as if to say ‘bad idea’ as the baby looked back to the iPad.
Mark gave the iPad a traitorous look, which looked more like a squinty pouty face, as he saw both Daddy and Molly on screen. Molly was nice, but Mark was honest enough to say that he was jealous and upset that someone else was regularly getting Daddy’s attention. He might have felt better about the whole thing if Molly weren’t cutting into Daddy’s visit to California to see his Markimoo. But she was. So he was not having it. Wade could see the change almost immediately as Mark’s breathing was subconsciously deeper and slower as if he were gearing up for something big- likely another wailing session if not an outright tantrum. Wade quickly fixed the camera to focus only on him.
“That’s okay, sweet pea, you don’t have to,” Wade dismissed. “You’ve had enough big things for today. Daddy understands. Maybe some other time.”
“Bug, why don’t you tell Dada bye bye for now so you can help Papa make num nums?” Tyler spoke up, noting the difference as Mark simply gave him a sad ‘I want cuddles’ kind of look. “We can make some Mac and cheese and have nuggets… we’ll even have some green beans. Then we can have a nice bottle and watch a Disney movie…”
“That sounds like so much fun, pumpkin!” Daddy enthused.
“No.” Mark bratted, pouting at Daddy. He didn’t really want Daddy’s input when said Daddy seemed to think going to a stupid grown ups only fancy dinner was more fun than playing and having dinner with baby.
“Love Bug, that’s not very nice, even if you are upset,” Tyler gently scolded. “Daddy is still Daddy and we don’t say no to him, especially if it’s just to be a pouty boy.”
“Papa…” Mark whined, not liking that his wonderful Papa was put out with him when Papa was all he had right now.
“It’s okay, but we need to be nice and I think you’re gonna have to give Daddy extra loves tomorrow to make up for your pouting tonight,” Papa Tyler soothed, running a hand through the baby’s hair. “Are you ready to make dinner or do you need Chica time?”
“Pica…” Mark sniffled.
“Okay, are you okay with me talking to Daddy for a moment alone while you have Chica time?” Papa asked, to which Mark nodded, not wanting to disappoint him. Papa showered him in kisses and stealthily checked his diaper just to be safe- still dry, for now- before rising and taking the iPad to the kitchen with him.
“I’ve never been more glad that you two moved in together,” Wade admitted, pausing to reassure Molly that she could go ahead and answer the call from her agent. “You’re so good with him and I can tell he cares about what you say and making you happy- just being good for you- by the way he responds to you, which is hard for littles with someone that isn’t their biomatch. I really hope you’re considering at least volunteering at a Littles shelter.”
“Actually, I was hoping you knew of one I could go to,” Tyler confessed, blushing profusely. “After all this time with Mark in his headspace, I think I really do at least want to be like a nanny or something… I just feel like I need my own little since I know it won’t be me and Mark forever and even if I was his backup there would still be a lot of times where he wouldn’t need me… I still don’t know that I could do it 24/7, but Mark’s schedule is almost perfect for what I’d want with a Little.”
“You and Bob are definitely my go-to caregivers for him,” Wade agreed. “I do know of a couple places out here you could go to. One of them is where Mark’s nanny, Amy, works. It’s a really nice facility and all of them adore Mark so it’s a good place if you need or want to take him with. I definitely think you should either consider being on the staff or even adopting one of them. You’re an amazing caregiver and apparently Bob and I are top tier so supposedly that means a lot. I honestly think that’s just because we’re also YouTube famous.”
“I’ll think about it, but with Mark needing someone while you’re working on getting everything in order to move, I can’t adopt a Little without talking to him. This is his home first, he just invited me to live here,” Tyler reminded him. He didn’t take Mark’s trust and love lightly. Tyler loves taking care of baby Mark and spending time with adult Mark was always fun and relaxing. He couldn’t step on his friend’s toes and decide to get a little while living under his friend’s roof- even if he was paying rent and taking care of said friend.
“That’s fine. I’ll text you the address and you can go check it out when you’re ready,” Wade submitted, trying to wrap up the call. “Molly and I have to get going, but please call me if he regresses further and gets any more upset. The restaurant isn’t going anywhere so if we have to cut things short, it’s not the end of the world.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’ll make dinner and watch some fun movies before bath time,” Tyler assured his friend. “We’ve been doing really good about fulfilling each other’s needs when it comes to his regressions and he’s usually a pretty happy baby once we get past the roughest parts of his slips.”
“Alright, I’ll be over probably after he’s been put to bed and if he’s awake in time, I’ll take him with me when I run Molly to the airport to catch her flight,” Wade responded with a sigh. He couldn’t help worrying about his baby.
“Well, I gotta get going on dinner before he gets upset,” Tyler replied, tapping the iPad to see the time was nearing a little too close to 8 when the baby needed to be in bed by 10. He also wasn’t sure he wanted to get into an argument over why putting the baby in a car with Molly for over an hour as their first time meeting was a bad idea. “I’m sure he’s starving by now.”
After exchanging ‘see you laters,’ they both hung up. Tyler got all the cookware out to make their simple dinner. Pot of water set to boil on the stove, another smaller pot for warming green beans and put them in and on the stove, and a baking sheet for the chicken nuggets which he went ahead and spread evenly over it. He started the water to a low boil for the macaroni, set the green beans to warm, and started preheating the oven. Once that was all set, he went ahead and made a bottle and popped it in the warmer. Once the bottle was sufficiently warmed, he grabbed it and headed back to the living room to find Chica halfway in the baby’s lap as the poor little one continued to cry and gently fist handfuls of her fur.
“Love Bug!” Tyler sing-songed in a soft voice as he approached. “I know the cutest little baby boy who deserves a bottle and a snuggle right about now. Do you know where I can find him?”
Mark whined and reached towards his Papa with one desperate grabby hand. There weren’t any other Littles in the house so obviously Papa had to mean him…
“That’s right! You’re such a smart boy!” Tyler cooed hefting the shorter into his arms. “We’re gonna have a bottle and then Papa needs some company while he makes dinner.”
Tyler settled them in on the couch, Chica laying by Mark’s head. She learned that he was a bit of a kicker sometimes when he was particularly little so it was best to stay away from his feet since he wasn’t usually aware of who was there or what they were doing. Tyler grinned as Mark happily latched on, feeling the Little’s body relax in his arms as a tiny smile came to the baby’s lips as the taller male cooed at him in soft sounds and kissed his forehead. He let the baby take his time nursing until the bottle was empty. From there, he put Mark’s binky back in the little one’s mouth and carried him to the kitchen on his hip. This was probably one of Tyler’s favorite things about Mark’s youngest headspaces- cooking with the comfortable weight of the happy baby in his arms. It really didn’t take long to finish making dinner and once everything was ready, Tyler buckled Mark into his highchair. Dinner went smoothly and easily transitioned into watching Ratatouille on the couch.
From there, Tyler had to pause. He really didn’t want Wade taking Mark to the airport to drop off Molly. Mark was likely to have a bowel movement in the morning since they would have a smaller bottle before bed that included his daily dose of probiotics and prebiotics, which would be an excellent excuse to hold off on bathtime… if Mark was gonna have a dirty diaper in the morning, it would be better to save the bath for after that since it would also help to cheer the baby up since he still wasn’t a fan of messing his diaper. Tyler nodded to himself as he checked Mark’s diaper to find it still dry for the time being. They would brush teeth and tuck in for the night. Tonight, Tyler could sleep on the spare bed in Mark’s nursery to make sure Wade didn’t try to sneak off with the baby in the morning. He didn’t think Wade would intentionally upset his baby, but the poor guy had rose colored glasses for this neutral woman. Molly was nice and very pretty and Tyler was certain she was a lovely person, but most neutrals weren’t cut out for life as a Little’s caregiver or even the spouse of a caregiver. Even if the caregiver never made the spouse take care of the Little, the neutral wouldn’t be able to accept and cope with the fact that there was a “forever baby” in the house and that it meant the life of a new parent until everyone involved passed away from old age or unforeseen tragedy.
He had heard stories from many of his neutral friends about the struggles of falling in love with a Caregiver that already found their biomatch, who was often toddler or younger in headspace. It always started off as this amazing and unique experience that, depending on the Little, was often soft and sweet and just delightful even when the crying fits happened, but then it would lose its charm and wonder the longer the neutral stuck it out. The worst part, so he had been told, was that caregivers were capable of bouncing back and being just as happy as a solo caregiver with a forever baby as they were having a spouse to help them along and keep them company, which left the neutral feeling as though they were the only one to lose anything or anyone. Tyler was grateful he had never had that experience so far. He mostly found matches in other neutrals or submissives, though he had yet to find one he’d want to share his life with yet. It was the last thing on his mind with the confusing urges to care for a Little coming into play. He wasn’t mad or upset, just confused that he was having urges similar to a caregiver so late in life when his classification was supposed to be at peak accuracy.
“No fankies, Pica,” Mark whined around his binky, sounding as if he were about to start crying when Chica insisted on trying to smother him in kisses.
“I think it’s time for fresh breath and bedtime, Buggaboo,” Tyler hummed, showering the baby’s cheeks with kisses. “Papa thinks he wants to have a sleepover in baby’s nursery tonight. Would you like Papa to go nigh night with you?”
“Uh Huh, p’ease,” Mark responded, clinging to his Papa as they shifted around so Tyler could get to his feet with the baby on his hip.
“We’ll have your bedtime bottle and Papa will brush your teeth, then it’s definitely bedtime,” Tyler agreed, kissing the baby’s forehead as he headed to the kitchen to warm up the bedtime bottle with Chica on his heels.
Once the bottle was ready, they went upstairs to the nursery and rocked while Mark took his time nursing his bedtime bottle. That was fine by Tyler. He loved moments like that where he could just give the baby a bottle and rock him to sleep. Baby Mark was extra clingy for the night and Tyler found it adorable. He felt a pang of sympathy as the tired baby geared up for a cry when his empty bottle went away.
“It’s okay, shhh,” Tyler soothed, cradling the baby in his arms as they made their way into the bathroom to brush teeth. He got the toothbrush wet and put on the Little friendly toothpaste and began to brush while starting a soft song he’d heard Wade sing before. “If all our life is but a dream, Fantastic posing greed, Then we should feed our jewelry to the sea. For diamonds do appear to be Just like broken glass to me, And then she said she can't believe Genius only comes along In storms of fabled foreign tongues, Tripping eyes, and flooded lungs. Northern downpour sends its love. Hey moon, please forget to fall down. Hey moon, don't you go down. Sugarcane in the easy mornin'. Weather-vanes my one and lonely. The ink is running toward the page, It's chasin' off the days. Look back at both feet And that winding knee. I missed your skin when you were east. You clicked your heels and wished for me. Through playful lips made of yarn, That fragile Capricorn Unraveled words like moths upon old scarves. I know the world's a broken bone, But melt your headaches, call it home. Hey moon, please forget to fall down. Hey moon, don't you go down. Sugarcane in the easy mornin'. Weather-vanes my one and lonely. Sugarcane in the easy mornin'. Weather-vanes my one and lonely… Sugarcane in the easy mornin'. Weather-vanes my one and lonely. Hey moon, please forget to fall down. Hey moon, don't you go down. You are at the top of my lungs, Drawn to the ones who never yawn…”
Tyler made quick work of brushing Mark’s teeth during the soft song and supported the poor tired baby as he slumped into the taller’s hold. It was precious to see just how little Mark was and that he trusted Tyler to take care of him just as much as he would normally trust Wade. He felt a tightness in his chest as he wiped Mark’s face with a hand towel and hoisted the baby back into his arms. Mark just seemed so sad and… hurt? Was he really that upset that Wade would date someone? Did he have a crush on Wade that he hadn’t told anyone about? Or was it because Molly was a neutral? But if it was because she was a neutral, was it because he thought Molly would hurt his daddy by leaving or because he thought Molly would take his daddy away and leave Mark all alone? He’d have to pocket these questions for when Mark grew up again. Tyler knew they would all have to address it at some point, but tonight was not the time. Normally, they would rock and sip at a bottle of water before baby fell asleep, but tonight Tyler kicked it up a bit and decided to do slow steady laps around the nursery after snagging one of Mark’s glow in the dark pacifiers and slipping it into his mouth. Tyler huffed a bit of a chuckle as his brain suggested another soft song to sing to the baby. It never failed to remind him of the Caregiver girl that he had befriended awhile back- she had wanted to date him, but he didn’t feel that way about her and he felt bad that he kept giving her mixed signals but she was misinterpreting his desire to spend time with her as something it wasn’t. He wondered if Wade and Molly were in a similar situation and just didn’t know it yet… Maybe Wade just wanted to see if a full fledged CG/L family was in the cards for him and he was just testing things out with Molly since they seemed to hit it off...
“She held the world upon a string, But she didn't ever hold me. Spun the stars on her fingernails, But it never made her happy Cause she couldn't ever have me. She said she won the world at a carnival, But she could never win me Cause she couldn't ever catch me. I, I know why… Because when I look in her eyes, I just see the sky. When I look in her eyes, Well I, just see the sky. I don't love you, I'm just passing the time. You could love me if I knew how to lie. But who could love me? I am out of my mind. Throwing a line out to sea To see if I can catch a dream,” Tyler sang softly as he rubbed Mark’s back and paced the room in slow, even steps. “The sun was always in her eyes. She didn't even see me, But that girl had so much love. She'd wanna kiss you all the time. Yeah, she'd wanna kiss you all the time. She said she won the world at a carnival, But I'm sure I didn't ruin her- Just made her more interesting. I'm sure I didn't ruin her- Just made her more interesting. I don't love you I'm just passing the time. You could love me if I knew how to lie, But who could love me? I am out of my mind. Throwing a line out to sea To see if I can catch a dream…”
Once he was certain that Mark was out for the count, Tyler laid him the baby in his crib, tucked him in, pulled up the side, started the space themed mobile, and made sure Chica was comfortable on her bed by the crib. He gave the dog some gentle pets and dimmed the lights before stepping out of the nursery to take a moment to himself before turning in for the night. After all, he still needed to make sure Wade and Molly could get in since Wade didn’t have a key yet.